There was mild drama on Sunday when President Bola Tinubu met with the 2023 presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi and former Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi.
A terse statement shared by spokesman to the President, Bayo Onanuga, said the trio met at Pope Leo XIV’s installation mass on Sunday in Rome.
He said: “Fayemi sighted President Tinubu, where he sat with other leaders and asked Obi to follow him to pay homage to the Nigerian leader. Obi agreed.
“On getting to the President, Fayemi broke the ice between Obi and Tinubu. He said: ‘Mr. President, welcome to our church, and thank you for honouring the Pope with your presence.’
“President Tinubu, ever quick-witted, responded: “I should be the one welcoming you and Peter. I’m the Head of the Nigerian Delegation’.
“The President’s response cracked up Obi, who agreed with the President.
“Obi said: ‘Yes, indeed. We are members of your delegation’.”
Peter Obi and Fayemi are staunch Catholics and Papal knights.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, finished third behind Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election.
Obi secured a total of 6,101,533 votes, trailing Atiku’s 6,984,520 votes and Tinubu’s winning tally of 8,794,726 votes, according to official results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Despite his third-place finish, Obi caused a major political upset by defeating Tinubu in Lagos State—widely regarded as the President’s stronghold—and made significant inroads across key states in the South-East, South-South, and parts of the North Central.
As Nigeria looks ahead to the 2027 elections, Obi is reportedly repositioning for another shot at the presidency. He is also said to be part of a growing opposition coalition, which allegedly includes Fayemi, ex-ally of the President, which is gearing up to mount a strong challenge to Tinubu’s re-election bid
